As it is known, power and distribution transformers are industrial devices used to convert electrical energy from one voltage potential to another.
A transformer has two basic components, the core and the coil. The core is made from materials such as steel or iron and may have a single leg or multiple legs depending on the type of transformer. The coil of a transformer consists of conductive material, typically wire, wound around the leg(s) of the core.
At present, there are several types of transformer models available on the market and manufactured according to various customer specifications. For example, a utility company may need a transformer with a unique kVA rating that fits a particular footprint, customers may require that the same power transformer be able to produce different voltages, et cetera. In most cases, in order to achieve a desired performance it is necessary to change one or more properties of components of the transformer and this definitely requires to modify, partially or entirely, the design of the transformer.
One of the most difficult tasks in designing the transformer is designing the coil. The coils comprise phase circuits, and each phase circuit consists of one or more windings. In its simplest form, the coil of a transformer has a single primary winding and a single secondary winding. In a complex coil design, there may be multiple windings. In turn, each winding comprises one or more segments which in practice are electrical circuits connected to each other by nodes. Different numbers of segments are connected to achieve different voltages. In many cases a minimum of two segments are connected in series to achieve the minimum voltage and all the segments are connected in series to achieve the maximum voltage. Clearly, a request from a customer demanding a specific set of voltages to be produced by a transformer means to substantially revise if not to restart completely the design of an existing transformer model.
The same consequences more or less occur when changing any other property of the transformer in order to meet any requirement submitted by the customers.
Thus, in order to simplify the design process, designers make use more and more of automated tools and software programs. However, taking into account the huge variability of customer requirements and the number of components and properties of the transformer to be taken into account, it is still desirable to provide a solution which allows to further improve and optimize as much as possible the design process of transformer coils.